4D - is it a must see?

When visiting theme parks that have 4D theaters, do you make sure to see the show? Is it a must do on your theme park list? I'm interested in hearing about your 4D experiences so I can determine whether to include it in my next theme park visit. Thanks!

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4-D attractions are great attractions at theme parks and lots of fun to experience.

First of all, they get you out of the elements which is great if it's raining, or if it's 90+ outside you get an Air Condition break.

A lot of the time there are pre-shows which help to mask the waiting time for the actual attraction. Muppet Vision 3-D has a very entertaining pre-show, especially if you are a fan, and it runs pretty much the length of your wait, which is great!

Although some of the older shows are showing their age these days, it's still lots of fun to sit with a large group of people and have a communal experience, reacting to the various 4-D gags and elements designed to get a reaction from the crowd.

Even though 3-D seems to be all the rage again in Hollywood (god help us), don't expect theaters to start installing all the bells and whistles that seperate theme park 4-D adventures from their bloated, higher budget, Tinsel Town cousins. Fog, props, water, lasers, smells, live actors, true stereo-scopic surround sound, animatronics, seating with various effects built into them, air cannons, highly detailed and themed theaters and pyro effects are par for the course with the more cutting edge 4-D shows. All of these elements combined along with the on screen 3D really help to bring the audience into the middle of the action, and create a far more immersive experience than 3D delivers alone.

All in all, if you normally pass by 4-D shows when you visit a theme park, you very well could be missing out on one of your favorite all time attractions and you don't even know it. At least once, you owe it to yourself to give them a try. If you don't like it, then you don't have to worry about wasting any of your valuable time on them the next time you visit. If you do end up enjoying them, congratulations, you've just expanded upon the fun you can have when visiting your favorite theme parks.

I think you should make an effort to see them, especially in parks in orlando and the like. Tough to be a Bug, Honey i shrunk the audience, mupptervision, philharmagic, and terminator are all great. but, (and i know im in a small percentage of people here) i dot really care for the shrek 4-d attraction.

The whole "4D" hype is misleading. Muppet*Vision, Terminator 2, It's Tough to Be a Bug, and various other attractions have "3D" in the title, and are no different than the so-called "4D" attractions.

From a dimensional standpoint, the fourth dimension is a difficult concept to grasp and should not be used in 3D attractions. It's misleading. People sometimes interpret the "4th" dimension in these attractions as off-screen effects (e.g. water spray), which saddens the nerd in me.

I'd say go see them, just don't go in thinking it's going to be "awesome".I just saw the Shrek 4-D, and while okay, it wasn't anything great. And, while I would tell someone that they should go see the T-2 3-D show @ Universal, I was disappointed that they still only have 4 of the Terminators in the theater working instead of all 6. Is it really that hard to keep the attraction in working order? I can't believe Twister is still there, either. Time to switch to something more recent.

Mickey's PhilharMagic is easily the best of the 4D attractions. All the attractions mentioned in this thread were impressive, but PhilharMagic is spectacular, with dazzlingly sharp 3D. Anyone who skips this show is definitely missing out.